Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums  

Someone swaped you seats at some point then. My LX seats are flat with no lumbar or leg rest. I do have dual power seats though.

That's one of the more stranger things about my car which I haven't to this point mentioned. I know the Auto Turbo's were only supposed to get 10lbs of boost, but when I trounce on the thing, I can get up to 15lbs easy.

It has the 5 speed turbo then(or at least the wastegate bleed fitting from one, thats the only difference in the auto and stick versions of the  IHI.)

Not necessarily. I know where there's an '88 LX rotting in a guy's back yard with the TC/sport seats, floor shifter, and full digital dash with woodgrain dash panels. The car is absolutely loaded. The guy is the original owner and claims that everything on the car is as it was delivered when new (including the full body kit, which I've been trying to buy from him). Because of this car I'd always thought that all 88 V8 LX's had the TC seats, but seeing that yours has the standard seats  now has me thinking this may be another of those factory freaks,  or the TC seats may have

A stock 5.0 SO isn't going to feel that much quicker than your auto Turbo Coupe. They're probably equally fast. I've done a few mods to mine (check my sig) and the car has woken up considerably. The 5.0 Sport will have much more low end torque than your Turbo Coupe though which might make it feel faster.

Not necessarily.  My girlfriend's 88 TC is auto.  The previous owner had the turbo rebuilt and had the wastegate lines routed wrong.  The car would only produce roughly 6 psi.  After I looked at the fan shroud and corrected the mistake, it would hit 10 psi and felt like a different car.  It would also surge to 15 psi every once and again.  Surge is caused by long waste gate tubing such as the system used on 87-88 TC's.  The IHI's are the same and the only time the BCS bleeds pressure is when the premium switch is flipped on the 5-speed cars.

Also it came with the premium switch and a BCS, but obviously flipping the switch wouldn't make a difference.  The guy said the car wasn't messed around with and was totally stock.  I don't know if all TC's came with a BCS and just the 5-speeds (having the extra PCM port) would have it functional.  If I get a chance I can swap my LA3 into it and see if it makes it work.

Because of this car I'd always thought that all 88 V8 LX's had the TC seats, but seeing that yours has the standard seats now has me thinking this may be another of those factory freaks, or the TC seats may have been an option. I suppose they also could have been dealer installed, but regardless, the guy says he bought the car new that way.

Those that have it must have been special order.

My 87 LX has full center console, no floor shifter, TC seats, and TC style door panels. Everything is stock on the inside. I'm the second owner. The guy i bought it off of is a preacher so wouldnt lie...lol.